Community

OP-ED: Can a Mayor Stop Crime?

Published

12 years ago

June 2, 2014

By Wilson Riles Jr.

This Mayoral election ought to galvanize community understanding of the best way to utilize taxpayer dollars to achieve a significant crime and violence reduction. Businesses and residents need honesty and clarity about how candidates will change things.

The need for change is undeniable. Unfortunately so many games are played in elections, that voters will hear everything but honesty and clarity. As a former City Council Member and student of government who has focused many hours of study on this issue, I hope that I can be helpful.

Joe Tuman seems to be “the first out of the box” to present his plan. Joe’s top priority is increasing the number of officers from a little over 650 to 900 or 1,000.

Why? Logic would dictate that we must first question assumptions. Tuman’s assumption is false. Let me give you three ways that it has been proven wrong: (1) there is no relationship between crime rates and officers per capita for cities of similar size in the US, (2) there is no relationship between the crime rate in Oakland over the years and the number of officers per capita, and (3) the 1972-73 Kansas City preventive patrol experiment clearly proved that more police in an area makes no difference to the crime rate.

Therefore, Joe Tuman’s and others belief in the first priority need for more cops is not based on evidence.

In addition, Joe’s idea to receive one-time-only money from the sale of land to spend on the On-Going costs of police personnel is outrageous! And irresponsible!

The rest of his payment plan is ass-backwards; a responsible leader does not spend money before he has it! Expand the tax base first before you start spending the money. Everybody wants to expand the tax base, but few will do it by increasing taxes on business as Joe proposes.

Joe Tuman’s second crime priority, which launches an attack on Mayor Quan’s 100 Block Initiative, is poorly aimed. Quan’s tactic of concentrating attention – not just patrols – on particular areas for specific results has demonstrated temporary effectiveness for police departments across the country.

Tuman criticizes a tactic that has some evidence for success and substitutes a tactic – evenly distributed patrols – where there is clear evidence of ineffectiveness.

I echo his concern that “City leaders” have not given proper direction to OPD. But Tuman fails to present how he is going to educate the City Council to govern based on evidence.

Joe Tuman

The council is the source of many of the initiatives that Tuman disparages like Measure Y, the temporary use of officers from other jurisdictions, etc. The council is particularly blame worthy for not curtailing the persistent unconstitutional policing that results in millions of dollars in losses every year from lawsuits including the Riders Case which brought about the Negotiated Settlement Agreement.

Tuman wants the council to use evidence while demonstrating his belief in tactics that have no evidence that they will work. How does that work?

Third, his call for special initiatives for specific crimes is uninformative and hackneyed. What does he mean by “reduce the number of potential customers” for child trafficking for prostitution? How? Using what resources?

And his car impoundment and property seizures for illegal dumping and sideshows are inane. Who is going to do those impoundments and seizures? How about providing more affordable dumping sites and advertising them.

How about doing what San Diego did and provide a safe and sane place for sideshows that could lead young folks into detailing, auto mechanics, and automobile racing professions?

Fourth, he talks about working on the root causes of crime and violence offhandedly as if he is “checking a box.”

His fifth point is a reiteration of his call for leadership – a call for his leadership. I will not expect any leadership from Joe Tuman on crime – if he were to get elected – because he has demonstrated only a very thin slice of knowledge about it.

This is the first of a weekly series in which Wilson Riles Jr. will analyze, critique and comment on mayoral candidates’ positions on police, crime and public safety issues. The publisher has asked Mr. Riles to do this series based upon his previous membership on the Oakland City Council and his continued active involvement in local public policy issues.

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.